The crewman led Amanda back to the door of Morgan’s quarters. It was wooden like much of the rest of the ship. The halls of Morgan’s ship were narrower than Sirius’s, but in a weird sort of a way this ship had more of an elegant feel to her. She was clean but well worn, where many hands had obviously brushed against the wall for support on a rough ocean. A lot of the doors, such as the very one Amanda currently stood before, had been elegantly carved at some point, but in a way that suggested it hadn’t been all done at once. Rather, over the years, someone with an artistic flair had, on occasion, gotten bored and decided to add yet another little bit of decoration to the ship, a curve here, a curl there, a fleur-de-lis, or a wolf eating a boar. The tiny decorations would show up in the most unexpected of places too. In one corner Amanda had spotted two skeleton’s drinking from and over-sized wine glass. On Morgan’s door, someone had painted two reflected sections of either a branch or a vine, in a dark red. The way the spines were laid out made them almost look like teeth in split mouth.

  Amanda hesitated before the closed door. “Do I just…”

  But when she turned to look for her guide, he had vanished off into some other part of the ship.

  Amanda considered the door. Jutting out her chin she reached out and knocked hard on the wood.

  There was no answer. Was she just supposed to wait? Had Morgan really summoned her here? She couldn’t think of any other explanation unless the crewman had been some sort of real ghost. Even though the wood of Morgan’s ship was much lighter in colour, the tight and not always perfectly straight or well-lit hallways gave it a spooky sort of feel. Perhaps it was just that it was a new and unfamiliar ship. Sirius’s ship had had a similar sort of feeling at first as well but it had disappeared once she’d gotten used to it.

  Disinclined to stand around just waiting, Amanda tried the door handle. It was open and unlocked. She pushed it inward slightly and knocked again.

  “Come in,” purred a voice she recognised as Morgan’s from around the back of the door.

  Amanda pushed her way slowly inside, half expecting Morgan to leap out from the shadows. But there was no movement. She didn’t see Morgan at all at first. Not until she turned toward the bed.

  There Morgan lay, the front ties of her shirt undone, fabric fallen haphazardly to the side so it only barely covered the tips of her nipples. Around her were three half-dressed or naked men who she recognised as Randy, Ferret, and Larska, the men that had been sitting nearest Morgan at lunch. They were all cuddled up close to Morgan, in what looked very much like the aftermath of an extremely intimate moment.

  Not for the first time, Amanda reconsidered if she was meant to be there. At the very least, she wasn’t sure where she was supposed to look. When she finally settled on Morgan’s brown eyes, she could see that the woman was, once again taking great satisfaction in being the cause of someone else’s discomfort.

  Morgan smiled wide. It was a habit of hers, to bare all her teeth when she smiled. Werewolf teeth in human form were no different than that of a witch or a human. They didn’t have prominent fangs like vampires did, but there was something about the way Morgan grinned that made her appear sort of wolfish even as a woman. Her wild, thick hair added to the effect, almost looking like fur. And the way she was semi-cast in shadow made Amanda feel a little like prey being watched.

  “Welcome!” Morgan said. “I wanted to talk to you.”

  “About what?” Amanda asked, taking a hesitant step forward and closing the door behind her. Her gaze flickered to Morgan’s companions.

  The fair-haired Larska was nestled against Morgan’s right knee propped up on one elbow with his other hand gently caressing her bare thigh and one of his own legs hooked over hers. He was stark naked but his pose kept his more private areas hidden from view. Still, it was obvious he was an extremely fit man. He could have been pulled directly out of a painting from the old world histories.

  Dark-haired Randy was further up and no longer wearing his sunglasses. He was currently nibbling Morgan’s earlobe. She barely seemed to notice or mind. On her other side Ferret sat more still. He clutched Morgan’s hand and watched Amanda curiously.

  “Oh, don’t mind them,” Morgan said with a small shake of her head. Her top was long enough that it fell down to just above Larska’s hand. Amanda suspected if Morgan stood upright it would fall about mid-thigh. From this position, if Amanda had been much shorter it just might have been possible to see all the way up it.

  She tried not to think about it.

  Morgan took her time in answering, watching Amanda’s reaction closely. Amanda felt like she was being tested, but on what she didn’t know.

  “About Sirius?”

  “What about him?” Amanda didn’t waver in her replies at least. She got the feeling that it would be unwise to show weakness, although exactly what Morgan defined as weakness or strength was still in question.

  “How did you meet him? Tell me the story.” Morgan waved a commanding hand. Then she stretched her arms up in the air and arched her back so her dark nipples pressed obviously against the fabric of her shirt.

  “Uh…” Amanda faltered and glanced toward the ground before looking back up to meet Morgan’s smiling face. A wave of anger flooded over her then. What right did Morgan have to treat her like some plaything? She didn’t have to keep looking at them like this if she didn’t want to. She could walk around the room. Maybe it would give her some new insights. When one was unsure about a person sometimes the best thing was to do something unexpected and see how they reacted. Morgan was obviously sussing her out. Well, two could play at that game.

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  She turned and walked over to the map table in the middle of the room. “He stole my father’s pegasus,” she replied. She couldn’t help herself. She glanced back toward Morgan and her companions. Morgan’s smile seemed to have fallen away slightly but it returned as Amanda glanced back.

  Morgan leaned forward subtly, her smile dropping again only slightly, replaced by a look of curiosity. “He stole your pegasus?”

  “Well…” She was about to say it was technically her dads but she realised it was both of theirs really, and she had been the one to capture it. There was something else she realised she might have misrepresented though. “Technically, his client stole it. He was just shipping it. It’s why Shiv kicked us off the boat. He thought Sirius was going to give it back to me.” She walked around the table as she talked, glancing between the maps and the bed.

  Morgan settled herself comfortably again. “Mmm, that Shiv. I’m not so happy with his actions here.” After a moment’s pause she changed her mind about sitting on the bed and she wriggled herself upright and then pulled herself off the side and onto the floor. She waved her hand at the men. “Shoo. Be gone.”

  All three of them gathered their clothes from the floor and left the room without so much as pout.

  Amanda initially averted her eyes but then she turned to watch them go with a frown and when she looked at Morgan, she could see the woman was smiling again. It brought Amanda back to her senses.

  “You don’t agree with his actions? But you still followed his orders.”

  Morgan snorted and reached for her pants which were on the floor. Amanda had been right, her shirt fell about mid-thigh once she was standing. She wasn’t any less intimidating out of the shadows, given Amanda’s eyebrows were barely level with Morgan’s chin. Amanda didn’t think Morgan would hurt her though. Sirius would be mad. Then again, this was her ship and she had a crew full of obedient men at her command.

  “I don’t follow his orders. I didn’t need to pick you up but air for diving costs a lot of money and Sirius seems to go through less of it than anybody else. Ain’t many who are better at salvaging a wreck than Sirius.” Pants now on, Morgan fixed her belt around her hips and stalked toward her main desk.

  As she sat in her chair she added. “Sirius is a good friend. I don’t like to see him treated poorly. I used to think him a little too gentle for this life, but he’s proved me wrong on several occasions.”

  “Too gentle?” Amanda frowned. She never would have said that at first impression. It was only after she’d gotten to know Sirius that she’d realised how gentle he really was. But Sirius hadn’t been easy to get to know. She doubted even his crew were familiar with that side of him. Exactly how well did Morgan know him?

  Morgan waved a hand from where she now sat comfortably behind the desk. “We have different views on certain ways of doing things but we get on well enough, from a distance at least. I sailed with him for a time. It was a terrible idea. We argued constantly. He’s a pacifist you know. Doesn’t like to cause trouble, where as I…” she trailed off and leaned forward with a grin.

  Yeah, Amanda could see that. She wisely kept her mouth shut though. She was still trying to figure Morgan out. The fact that the woman seemed to like being unpredictable wasn’t helping much. This felt like the less said the better sort of situation. At the very least, it would keep Morgan guessing too.

  They eyed each other up like two felines swishing their tails.

  “So, he stole your pegasus and then what?” Morgan asked.

  “Then I snuck aboard his ship to get it back and… kinda got stuck out at sea.”

  Morgan looked at her in silence for a full 3 seconds, the smile on her face slowly growing the entire time, and then she started laughing. Large hoots of laughter that echoed through the room. She slapped the desk twice.

  Amanda waited.

  Eventually Morgan stopped. With sharp eyes and that ever-present smile she leaned forward across the desk and asked, “And then?”

  Amanda hesitated. “And then…”

  Morgan who was looking on eagerly with undivided interest, cocked her head to the side.

  Amanda opened her mouth but the words fell away. She wasn’t sure what to say next. How to summarise up everything that had happened since. She glanced to the side, not wanting to meet Morgan’s eyes.

  Morgan filled it in for her. “And then you seduced him hoping to convince him to give you the pegasus back?”

  Amanda snapped her head up and scowled.

  Morgan was moving her shoulders slowly from side to side in an almost snake-like motion.

  “No,” Amanda replied sharply.

  The force of her reply seemed to surprise Morgan, who’s smile was instantly replaced with a thoughtful frown as she sat back in her seat.

  “It wasn’t like that,” Amanda said, not dropping her gaze this time.

  Morgan’s eyes narrowed slightly. They studied Amanda intently. The look of confusion stayed.

  “That wasn’t… part of the plan.” Amanda said it less forcefully now.

  Morgan continued to study her. “So what was the plan?”

  Once again, Amanda was grappling for words. What had been her plan? Sneak a pegasus off a crowded ship? Confront the captain and demand he give it to her? Persuade him? It all seemed so silly now and maybe Morgan was right. Except, it hadn’t been like that. Not the way Morgan said it. Not really? Right?

  A snort of snort from Morgan made her raise her head again. “Don’t tell me you planned to force him to give it to you?” Her gaze swept the entirety of Amanda’s short stature, obviously not thinking much of it.

  Amanda narrowed her eyes. “I could burn you in your seat if I wanted to.” She spoke confidently in what was possibly her best bluff yet. She knew how fast a werewolf could shift and attack. Maybe if she were across the room she’d have the advantage but sitting this close to one another, the chances were good they’d both end up pretty hurt.

  The corner of Morgan’s lip twitched upward. With a slightly threatening lean forward she replied, “I’m not sure you realise how fast a werewolf can spring.”

  “Oh, I know,” Amanda replied without missing a beat, still staring Morgan down.

  The smile on Morgan’s face reached up a little further but it didn’t quite make her eyes. As she sat back Amanda could see just a hint of uncertainty. “So did you threaten him like this too?”

  Once more Amanda glanced away. A little too late she realised she was probably revealing just as much to Morgan as Morgan was to her. Perhaps that was what Morgan was trying to gauge though, whether or not Amanda really did care about Sirius. Sometimes honesty really was the best policy.

  “I may have called him a thief several times,” she admitted.

  Morgan laughed, although not as loudly as before. This time it was more of a chuckle.

  “Although, I suppose it doesn’t matter now since Shiv resolved that issue.”

  Morgan looked thoughtful. “And what will you do now? Once the captain gets his ship back and there’s no pegasus on board anymore.”

  Amanda met her gaze for a few thoughtful seconds. “I don’t know. Sail with them I suppose. Wherever they’re off to next.” It was the truth either way, whether they sailed for home directly or not. Sirius had said he’d go back to Little Rock. What happened once they got there, well that was a future problem.

  “You suppose?” repeated Morgan in an almost knowing look that Amanda couldn’t quite read.

  Amanda held her tongue.

  Morgan leaned back in her chair, a satisfied look on her face. “Well, I feel like I know you better now and it’s almost dinner time. How about we call this talk done and I’ll see you galley later.”